Sandra Paton got the surprise of her life when an invitation from the Prime Minister, Tony Blair arrived at her work inviting her to a reception at 10 Downing Street in London.

Sandra is a Training and Development Worker with the South Ayrshire Women’s Aid, and works closely with South Ayrshire’s Multi Agency Partnership on domestic abuse. Over the last five years Sandra has trained more than 6,000 service providers to recognise the effects of domestic abuse on the lives of women and children, encouraging them to look at ways to deliver an equitable service to people affected by domestic abuse.

Funding and support for her work comes from a range of sources including the Better Integrated Children’s Services, the Multi Agency Partnership on Domestic Abuse and the Community Safety Partnership. Community Safety has for several years employed an Officer whose specific remit is domestic abuse.

The reception was held to acknowledge the achievements of two hundred people from all over the United Kingdom who have carried out valuable work supporting local communities by providing support to vulnerable children and young people. Some of the invited guests had carried out work in the voluntary sector, while others though employed by a statutory agency had very strong connections with voluntary organisations.

Commenting on the invitation to the reception Convener of the Council’s Community Safety Partnership, Councillor Douglas Campbell said: “Sandra has worked tirelessly to raise the profile of domestic abuse, and to get people talking about it. The existence of domestic abuse is something that everyone must recognise, it takes place in the poorest and the most affluent of homes, affects people from all age groups, and can deny them the right to feel safe in their own homes. There can be no excuse for people who behave abusively towards women, children or men.

“Sandra, everyone at Women’s Aid, and all the volunteers and staff from partner organisations that they work with, are there to offer help and support to anyone who needs it.”

On the evening of the reception the Prime Minister addressed the guests, and was accompanied by the Lord Chancellor, Lord Charles Falconer, and David Blunkett, MP, who all took the opportunity to circulate and hear about the various works carried out by those at the reception.


Speaking about her experience Sandra said: “It’s reassuring to know that the efforts of South Ayrshire Women’s Aid have been recognised at such a high level. Although I only had the chance to speak briefly with the Prime Minister I was fortunate enough to have a long conversation with the Lord Chancellor about a variety of subjects including contact and resident issues for children who had experience domestic abuse.

“It was a great opportunity to raise the profile of the innovative work our local authority fund, not to mention the outstanding support Women’s Aid receive from the Multi Agency Partnership on Domestic Abuse and Community Safety Partnership. Only by working together will we be able to dismantle domestic abuse.”

Sandra has worked closely with students and staff from South Ayrshire Council schools and was instrumental in developing the ‘Raising the Issue’ study, which has been published and recognised by professional bodies. The study was carried out in one of the Council’s schools, and it found that 1 in 3 of the pupils across S1 to S6 disclosed having suffered domestic abuse.

Sandra has worked with South Ayrshire Women’s Aid for the past 14 years, initially working in a refuge supporting children and young people who had experienced domestic abuse. During the last five years she has developed and delivered multi agency training across Scotland; worked with Scottish women’s Aid and developed their training pack ‘Listen Louder’; taken part in Scottish Government working groups and carried out ground breaking research on the impact of Domestic Abuse on children and young people.

Anyone who is being subjected to domestic abuse or would like further information on the subject can contact a variety of organisations on the following telephone numbers:

South Ayrshire Women’s Aid 01292 266482
National Domestic Abuse Helpline 0800 027 1234
Strathclyde Police Domestic Abuse Unit 01292 664063
Housing Department – Homeless Section
Social Work Out Of Hours Standby 0800 811 505

Sandra is pictured at the reception in 10 Downing Street exchanging ideas and experiences with the Lord Chancellor, Lord Charles Falconer.

August 2005